It is a well known fact that I'm a Georgia Bulldawg fan, some use the word rabid fan, but I was happy to see the Gators (pronounced Gay-turds in Athens) win the BCS National Championship last night. These confuses many people, but here are the top 5 reasons a UGA fan can feel good today:
1) Auto-bid to Title Game. For years fans in the SEC have been touting their conferences strength. The SEC has now made the championship game 3 years in a row, and has won them all convincingly. This has led to an unofficial "auto-matic" BCS bid for the SEC champion (did you notice there was no debating that the winner of Bama/Florida was getting in this year). This will benefit all SEC schools, as winning the conference will get you a shot at the BIG prize...as long as we continue to win the BIG game.
2) NFL Draft. I'm saddened to see Special-K and Stafford leave, but this will be a great benefit on the recruiting trail. Picture Mark Richt sitting in your living room, he tells you all the great things about UGA, academics, facilities, co-ed (hey now!). Then he shows you his 2 SEC championship rings, and then he tells you about the SOPHOMORE tailback that is a first round NFL pick, and the JUNIOR QB who is likely to be the first overall pick. You think, "Hmm, I want to go to a good school, with cool facilities, and I like co-eds! I could compete for championships*, and have a great chance to play at the next level. Georgia sounds like the place for me!"
*I know that Gator fans are touting their 2 BCS Titles in 3 years, but until the BCS developes a quanititative way for the #1 team to be found (ie Plus-one system), winning a National Title is more about luck than skill.
3) Utah . With the "mid major" crashing the BCS, again, another monkey wrench has been thrown into the BCS. Who is the best team? Florida will obiviously be #1 in the final poll, with Utah behind them in the #2 spot. The BCS is still based off polls...which are OPINIONS, not fact. I'm still a supporter of the Plus-one system. If we can ever get the Rose Bowl to get on board, we could get this thing moving.
4) ESPN. Sometimes called the Evil Empire, but with their acquisition of the SEC TV rights, the conference will get even more exposure. More exposure = more people watching = higher poll rankings for the top teams. This should really help SEC teams in the future.
5) Georgia Tech. This may be a stretch, but proving to the Nerd Herd that their great "offense" is stopable just makes me smile. Nothing like seeing the Nerds completely blindsided, and totally confused. I admire LSU from afar, but even more so now that they took wrecked Tech. Also, who makes a "State Championship" ring in college? That's right the Nerd Herd. They were so excited about FINALLY beating Georgia they had rings commissioned using their bowl game payout. When you only win 1 out of 8, I guess you should do something special.
So all is not doom and gloom. I'm already missing Athens, but it won't be long until Septemeber. At least I have something to be happy about in the meantime.
1) Auto-bid to Title Game. For years fans in the SEC have been touting their conferences strength. The SEC has now made the championship game 3 years in a row, and has won them all convincingly. This has led to an unofficial "auto-matic" BCS bid for the SEC champion (did you notice there was no debating that the winner of Bama/Florida was getting in this year). This will benefit all SEC schools, as winning the conference will get you a shot at the BIG prize...as long as we continue to win the BIG game.
2) NFL Draft. I'm saddened to see Special-K and Stafford leave, but this will be a great benefit on the recruiting trail. Picture Mark Richt sitting in your living room, he tells you all the great things about UGA, academics, facilities, co-ed (hey now!). Then he shows you his 2 SEC championship rings, and then he tells you about the SOPHOMORE tailback that is a first round NFL pick, and the JUNIOR QB who is likely to be the first overall pick. You think, "Hmm, I want to go to a good school, with cool facilities, and I like co-eds! I could compete for championships*, and have a great chance to play at the next level. Georgia sounds like the place for me!"
*I know that Gator fans are touting their 2 BCS Titles in 3 years, but until the BCS developes a quanititative way for the #1 team to be found (ie Plus-one system), winning a National Title is more about luck than skill.
3) Utah . With the "mid major" crashing the BCS, again, another monkey wrench has been thrown into the BCS. Who is the best team? Florida will obiviously be #1 in the final poll, with Utah behind them in the #2 spot. The BCS is still based off polls...which are OPINIONS, not fact. I'm still a supporter of the Plus-one system. If we can ever get the Rose Bowl to get on board, we could get this thing moving.
4) ESPN. Sometimes called the Evil Empire, but with their acquisition of the SEC TV rights, the conference will get even more exposure. More exposure = more people watching = higher poll rankings for the top teams. This should really help SEC teams in the future.
5) Georgia Tech. This may be a stretch, but proving to the Nerd Herd that their great "offense" is stopable just makes me smile. Nothing like seeing the Nerds completely blindsided, and totally confused. I admire LSU from afar, but even more so now that they took wrecked Tech. Also, who makes a "State Championship" ring in college? That's right the Nerd Herd. They were so excited about FINALLY beating Georgia they had rings commissioned using their bowl game payout. When you only win 1 out of 8, I guess you should do something special.
So all is not doom and gloom. I'm already missing Athens, but it won't be long until Septemeber. At least I have something to be happy about in the meantime.